


Be light from now on

by Merel



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cat Cafés, Cats, Coffee, Cookies, Fluff, Innuendo, Light Roasting of Andrew Lloyd Webber, M/M, Swearing, Yule
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-19 11:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22176505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merel/pseuds/Merel
Summary: “Aw, it looks cute!”Ling was hopping up and down in the winter chill and Greed couldn’t deny that he could feel it even through his faux-fur coat. A sign above it named it as The Purrfect Café, and yeah, he liked puns, but he figured if he’d start a cat café he’d name it something more original than that.“Let’s go inside, sweetheart.”
Relationships: Greed/Ling Yao
Comments: 14
Kudos: 53





	Be light from now on

**Author's Note:**

> Ho ho ho, tis I, Merel, bringing a Secret Santa gift for [Oliver](https://twitter.com/ocdlingyao)!

When he’d looked it up on the internet it’d looked like a hipster café, and the outside didn’t really change his mind.

“Aw, it looks cute!”

Okay, maybe it wasn’t that bad. Ling was hopping up and down in the winter chill and Greed couldn’t deny that he could feel it even through his faux-fur coat. “Let’s go inside, sweetheart.” 

Ling hummed and unhooked their arms, skipping towards the door. A sign above it named it as _The Purrfect Café,_ and yeah, he liked puns, but he figured if he’d start a cat café he’d name it something more original than that. 

“Come on!” 

“Yeah, yeah.” 

The door opened into a hall, with a couple of sinks and soap dispensers, and a lady wearing an apron and a wide smile. “Hi! Welcome to The Purrfect Café!” 

The lady droned on more about the mission statement and house rules and whatever. Cats are good, don’t steal the cats, don’t feed the cats salami, etcetera. 

“Questions?” The lady’s smile hadn’t dimmed at all during her long winded explanation. 

Greed shook his head and Ling answered with a cheery “Nope!” 

“Great! Please wash your hands before entering the den.” 

Greed washed his hands, dried them using the cat-patterned paper towels, and waited for Ling to wash his hands. The hostess lady was behind the desk, rearranging some flyers for music festivals and a yoga studio. She looked up when Ling finished, and opened the door for them. 

“I’ll come back with some menus.”

The inside didn’t look like a café, it looked like a very clean living room, with couches and low chairs. There was one other person in the room, sitting in a hanging chair, a cat on her lap. Ling went through the room, touching the big leather chair and the plaid thrown over the backrest of a wicker chair, before slowly sitting down a couch where two slim cats were lounging. 

Greed followed in a more straight line, letting himself fall on a cat-free space on the couch. The lady came up to them and smiled, what a surprise, holding two menus in her hand. 

“Oh, Izzy and Rose are always calm. Here you go.” She handed them a menu each, then left with a swish of her apron.

The menu had some good stuff, and some weird stuff. Big Marvin Tea for a ginger-spiced tea? Lady Lacy Latte for a soy latte with vanilla sirup and whipped cream, Izzy Grey, which seemed to be a normal tea with some extra- oh, that was kind of cute, them being named after cats and shit. He’d probably go with a black coffee though. 

Ling’s face was still buried in the menu, so Greed looked around some more. There were six cats that he could see, but there was a cat tree with cubbies in the corner and a door with a flap in it that lead out of the room with a _cats only!_ sign on it. Ling leaned against him and Greed leaned back. Ling took his head out of the menu. 

“There’s so much stuff, have you already picked something?” 

Greed hummed, and Ling sighed next to him. 

“I’m going to treat myself, I think.” 

_“You_ are a treat.” 

Ling leaned more into him, and Greed slung his arm over the backrest, rubbing Ling’s shoulder. The hostess lady came in through the door, and she smiled when she spotted them. 

“Have you made a choice?” 

Ling pointed to something on the menu. “I’d like a Mocha Mouse Macchiato with lemon cheesecake.” 

The hostess turned her blinding smile to him. 

“Uh.” He didn’t want to make Ling awkward by ordering only a coffee. “The, uh, Lady Lacy Latte?” The hostess nodded. “And, uh, the brownie.” 

The hostess repeated their orders and left, and Ling turned towards him. “I didn’t know you liked soy lattes.” 

He was looking confused, but Greed knew him better than that. “Yeah, laugh it up. Maybe I’m starting my New Year’s resolutions early, huh?” 

A smirk appeared on his face. “If that’s the case, you won’t mind me eating your cookie, right?” 

“Uh, I’m only starting some parts earlier.” 

Ling’s smirk became more smug, but he was quickly distracted by a giant ginger cat claiming their table. “Oh, what’s its name?” 

He checked the little booklet on the side-table for a big ginger cat. “Marvin.” 

“Hi, Marvin!” Ling picked him up and shoved him in his face. “He’s so nice!” 

Okay, he was pretty nice. Any other cat had probably fucked off five seconds ago, but Marvin was chill, dangling in Ling’s hands without a care in the world. “He’s pretty cool.” 

Ling smiled and his insides melted. He put the cat on his lap, where it made itself comfortable. “I want a cat. Or seven.” 

“Then get seven cats.” 

“I’ll have to convince Lan Fan of it.” Ling looked at him. “You’ll have to help me.” 

“Dunno if I’ll do much good, babe.” 

His smile lost some of its shine, but he perked up again. “I could employ Al, even she has a soft spot for him.” 

That, and the guy was scarily good at looking like a puppy whose tail you accidentally stepped on. “He’d probably adopt all the cats before you could, not sure if his brother’d like getting cat hairs everywhere.” 

Ling shrugged. “If he doesn’t like it, then he should move in with his sugar daddy.” 

“Is he coming over tomorrow?” 

“Ed is, I’m not sure about- oh!” 

The hostess entered the door again, this time with a tray with two elaborate coffees, a cheesecake with sauce and a brownie smothered in caramel. She place the coffees and plates in front of them. “Enjoy!” 

Ling attacked his cheesecake, and Greed followed with his brownie. It was nice, crunchy on top and moist in the middle, nothing too complicated. They stayed like that for a while, enjoying their coffee and each other’s company. Greed used the last piece of brownie to mop up the caramel sauce, and Ling leaned into him even more, big cat still purring on his lap. It was nice, homey, and he didn’t have a shit ounce of influence on Lan Fan, but by fuck would he try. 

A group of five people came in, and Ling stiffened next to him. Greed rubbed his back. They sat pretty close by, one of them chasing after a cat. Dick. Another said something, the others laughing obnoxiously. Greed rolled his eyes and looked at Ling. 

He was looking down and was scratching his forearms. Greed felt a pang in his chest and gently took his hands. He kissed his wrists through the oversized sweater, muttering a soft _hey_ when Ling blushed and looked away. “You wanna leave?” 

Ling bit his lip. “Do _you_ want to go?” 

“That wasn’t what I asked, babe.” 

Ling looked down and nodded, and Greed kissed his arms again. 

He paid the too-expensive bill while Ling washed his hands again. Still, he gave a good tip, no reason to be a dick, and the soy latte had actually been really nice. The hostess left them, probably to deal with the new group. The tap turned off behind him and he looked at Ling, who was still standing by the taps, but was frowning at his hands.

“Hey.” Greed said softly.

Ling stood there for a second, but he turned away, towards Greed, and walked over. Ling’s hands were clasped together and he looked tense, but Greed rubbed his forearms. 

“Hey.” He repeated. 

He could see Ling was trying to smile. “I’m sor-” 

“Don’t be.” He leaned forward to press a kiss to Ling’s forehead. “It’s okay. Pretty sure they scared all the cats away anyway, assholes.” 

Ling smile became more genuine and he became more chipper as they put on their coats. “We have cookies to decorate.” 

* * *

Central got a lot colder than Dublith, but a lot prettier too. Greed didn’t know if he liked that, but the cute lights and decorations made Ling happy, and that made it better than Dublith by a fucking mile. Ling was looking out of the tram window, commenting on the strings of lights and the giant yule tree on Baker’s Square. He could listen to Ling talk all day. Greed kissed Ling’s cheek, and he blushed, and damn it, he really was gone, wasn’t he. Ling’s red cheeks and blinding smile, Greed wished they’d met in some other reality, a place where he was good enough for Ling, where he deserved him. 

The walk from the tram stop to Ling’s apartment wasn’t that long, but when he opened the door, they were greeted with a wall of warmth, thank fuck. 

“I have to take this thing off, wait a second.” Ling went back into his bedroom, and Greed stayed in the hall, listening to Ling’s clothing rustling and a soft _plof_ of something hitting the bed. There was more rustling of clothes, and he got back with his hair slightly mussed. “Okay, let’s get decorating.”

The kitchen was just as warm, with the added bonus of the smell of fresh cookies and vanilla. Ling dragged him through it though, towards the small living room, where Lan Fan was, engaged in some video game. 

“Hey, I’m back.” 

Lan Fan frowned for a second, then took off her headphones and looked up. “Yeah, I noticed.” 

“Did you already do stuff for tomorrow?”

“I’m bringing fireworks.” 

“That doesn’t sound legal.” 

Lan Fan stared at Ling, in that sibling way that made something in his chest hurt, but the moment was over when Ling smirked. “Nothing too loud?” 

Lan Fan smirked back. “Nah, just some rockets. Same stuff as in the stores, just a bit earlier.” 

Okay, he liked her. She moved to look at him and her smirk dropped instantly. 

“Oh, you’re here again?” 

Greed _didn’t_ puff up his chest. “I helped him bake the cookies, now we’re decorating.” 

“Whatever.” She put on her headphones, picked up the controller and went back to her game. 

He glanced back at Ling, who was looking uncomfortable. “Well, babe, those cookies aren’t going to glaze themselves.” 

Ling perked up a bit. “Yeah!” Ling grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the kitchen. “I bought some food coloring stuff, so we can make different cats!” 

They went back to the kitchen and Ling unpacked a bag hanging from a dining chair. He hadn’t been kidding when he said he bought _some_ food coloring. There were some weird squeeze pens for writing, some other more watery squeeze tubes and a bag of glazing mix. 

“I thought I could like, glaze the cookie, and then you could add eyes and stuff!” 

Greed nodded and fiddled around with the pens for a bit while Ling made the glaze. His eyes fell on the radio, and he walked over and turned it on, spinning the dial until he found a station with only Yule songs.

“Greed, the first one’s done!” 

Ling handed him the first glazed cookie and Greed stared for a second. “Cat’s aren’t pale purple.” 

“First of all,” Ling started, pointing his finger, “they’re cookies, second, I didn’t buy all these colours just so we can make realistically-colored cats.” 

Fine, if Ling wanted to play that way, it wasn’t like cats had bangs. The weird cat-nose came next, with a smile and whiskers.

“Is that me?” Ling was frowning at the cookie in Greed’s hands.

“Uh, it’s inspired.” 

Ling blinked a couple of times, then stuck out his tongue. “Now make a you-inspired cat. We can’t just have one human cat.” 

Greed pretended to shiver. “Babe, don’t bring up human cats, that sounds horrifying.” 

“What about human trains?” 

“Babe, no.” 

“What about human trains on roller skates?” 

Greed put down the glaze bottle and looked at Ling, who was looking extremely serious. “Don’t say shit like that, you’re going to ruin Yule.” 

His serious expression cracked, and he giggled cutely. He handed Greed a cookie with a dark glaze, and Greed added some personal touches. Some fangs, purple contacts, golden earrings, this cat was cool as fuck.

“Is that your catsona?” 

“Hell yeah, I’m making catsona’s for everyone.”

Ling was pushing more glazed cookies towards him, and Greed took one with a bright pink glaze, which ended up with long dark bangs and a frown. 

“Is that?” 

Greed smirked at Ling. “Don’t tell her.” 

Ling smirked back. “She’s going to find out anyway.” 

“Hey.” 

Ling jumped next to him, and Greed made sure to strategically put his elbow in front of the cookie. Its inspiration was standing in the doorway, matching the expression hiding behind Greed’s arm. 

“Oh, hey! You’re leaving for Paninya’s already?” 

“Yeah, she texted me that they’re having a movie marathon and ordering pizza.” 

“Oh, that sounds nice!” Ling was being obnoxiously chipper, and Greed had to struggle not to burst out laughing. “Are you staying there until the party?” 

“Nah, I’ll be back tomorrow.” 

“Okay, have fun!” 

Lan Fan stuck out her tongue and Ling bratted back. She left the kitchen and Greed moved behind Ling, resting his chin on his head, watching him apply blue glazing to the cookie. Lan Fan was still in the hallway, putting on her coat, and Greed waited for the door to slam shut. “You know, when we’re done with these, I can glaze something else.” 

Ling shivered in his arms, the blue glazing spilling off the cookie. “Then you should hurry, there's still a lot of cookies for you to decorate.” 

Greed pouted, but whatever, he had a point. He picked up a different colored pen and started a frowning golden-haired cookie. Ling was done at this point, he was milling around the kitchen, putting things back, washing the dishes while Greed started with a blonde-haired blue-eyed cookie. 

He noticed that Ling was looking at him, and when he looked back Ling smiled, bright like the sun. Greed wanted that, wanted him, baking cookies and laughing, cats, cheesy songs on the radio, and he had that now. So he pulled Ling closer and kissed him, Ling humming against his lips. Ling pulled back, smiling, and Greed wanted nothing more.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it?? And I wish you the best in the coming year!!


End file.
